There is great demand for simplified titrations for applications in industry, medicine, environmental monitoring and academic research. Simplified titration systems provide advantages because they can be more easily automated, they can be used by inexperienced operators, and they are less expensive. Conventional titration methods use volumetric glassware or analytical balances to quantify sample and burets or pipets to dispense titrant. Titration methods that use flow injection analysis, sequential injection analysis (Fletcher and van Staden, 2003), continuous on-line endpoint monitoring (Tanaka et al., 2000; Watanabe et al., 2004) and a variety of unsegmented batch titrations (Almeida et al., 2000; Korn et al., 1995), do not use discrete volumetric or gravimetric measurements but require very precise control of flow rate. These titrations use peak width measurements with a time abscissa or directly incorporate flow rate into the endpoint calculation and are therefore sensitive to variations in flow rate. To obtain the best data, high precision pumps must be used with repeated introduction of standards to compensate for pump fluctuations. There are heretofore no titration methods that do not rely on volumetric (either as a flowing stream or discrete volumes) or gravimetric analysis.
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